Why we're still intrigued by the duchess from Baltimore

At a time when much of the English-speaking world is fixated on the royal wedding, it's worth pointing out that if it weren't for the original Baltimore bad girl, Wallis Warfield Simpson, Friday's nuptials might not be taking place.

Without her, there might be no reason to obsess about Kate Middleton's dress. There'd be no gossip about the guest list. (Fergie and Simon Cowell were both royally snubbed.) There'd be no "sweet William" soaps or official royal wedding rose petal jelly for tourists in London to snap up.

"If Wallis Simpson had never been born, King Edward VIII might not have abdicated the throne," says Hugo Vickers, the British-born author and royal expert who will be providing commentary about the wedding for the Associated Press Television News.

"He might have married someone else and had children, and maybe one of their offspring would be the king or queen today."

It's all highly speculative, of course. If, for instance, Edward VIII had been crowned but died childless, the line of succession would be identical to the one that exists.

Nonetheless, when the lovebirds sit down to writing their thank-you notes after the reportedly $48 million bash, they might want to spare a kindly thought for Will's reviled great-aunt, Wallis.

"The Duchess of Windsor was one of the most unfairly maligned women of the 20th century," says Vickers, whose sympathetic biography, "Behind Closed Doors: The Tragic, Untold Story of the Duchess of Windsor," was published April 7.

"She was a victim from the beginning, and she was a victim at the end. The duchess was quite ambitious and feisty, but she got into a situation where she was completely out of her depth. There's plenty of evidence that she never wanted to marry the king. She wanted to run a mile away, but by then she was in too deep.

"I'm just asking people to look at her in a slightly different way."

Vickers will stop by the Maryland Historical Society on June 23 to explain his findings in detail. Chances are that he'll find, more than 35 years after her death, that the duchess still has supporters in her hometown.

For instance, the historical society owns some of the duchess' belongings: several documents and famous photographs and a few of her gowns.

The star of the collection is undoubtedly the "Monkey Dress" — a flowing, champagne-colored confection embroidered with colorful simians. Mrs. Simpson donated the frock to the society in 1968, along with a photograph of her wearing it.

Baltimore County French teacher Mary Miles was struck by the duchess' elegance when she had tea at her villa outside Paris in 1972. But she was even more impressed by her kindness.

Miles had escorted 10 students from the Oldfields School to France. The tea was arranged by the grandmother of one girl, who was a close friend of the duchess'.

"Even though the duke was ill, she did come down to join us," Miles recalls.

"Some of the girls were nervous about meeting her, but she was a very, very gracious hostess. She asked them where they came from, how they were enjoying their stay in Paris, whether Oldfields had changed much since she went there. She made us comfortable and put us at our ease."

It's anecdotes like that that make Mark Letzer, the historical society's chief development officer, indignant at the way the duchess is portrayed in popular culture.

For instance, in "Any Human Heart," which ran this year on PBS's "Masterpiece Classic," she was the undisputed villain. In "The King's Speech," which recently won the Academy Award for best picture, she was the selfish socialite who plunged England into a constitutional crisis.

And guess how the duchess is depicted in the updated version of "Upstairs Downstairs," which wraps up its first season Sunday night on PBS?